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The US has listed 18 Nigerians for deportation from the country, in addition to 79 others earlier earmarked, bringing the total number of those to be deported to 97.
This is contained in a statement published on the website of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seen on Tuesday.
It explained that the arrests were part of a coordinated crackdown across several U.S. states carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
According to the DHS, the new names were added as part of an expanded nationwide enforcement operation targeting immigrants convicted of serious crimes.
It said that this was done under what it described as its “worst-of-the-worst” criminal immigrants programme.
The authorities claimed that the alleged offences linked to the newly listed individuals include wire fraud, mail fraud and identity theft, which pose significant financial and security risks.
”The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is highlighting the worst of the worst criminal aliens arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
”Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, the men and women of DHS and ICE are fulfilling President Trump’s promise and carrying out mass deportations, starting with the worst of the worst,” the statement said.
The 18 Nigerians whose names feature on the latest list include Oluwaseyanu Afolabi, Olugbeminiyi Aderibigbe, Benjamin Ifebajo, Obinwanne Okeke, Kolawole Aminu, Oluwadamilola Ojo, Franklin Ibeabuchi, Alex Ogunshakin, and Joshua Ineh.
Others are Stephen Oseghale; Eghosa Obaretin; Adesina Lasisi; Ibrahim Ijaoba; Azeez Yinusa; Charles Akabuogu; Kelechi Umeh; Lotenna Umeadi; Donald Ehie; and Chukwudi Kalu.
The agency added that the deportation process would be carried out immediately in line with U.S. immigration laws.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that since the return of President Donald Trump to office in January 2025, the U.S. government has been enforcing a strict alien immigration policy
An Irish man who has been in US immigration detention for five months has said he fears for his life and is confined in appalling conditions, as international scrutiny grows over the treatment of immigrants held by US authorities.
Seamus Culleton, originally from the Irish county of Kilkenny, has been held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Texas since early September.
Read Also: Badenoch Unveils Strict UK Immigration, Targets 150,000 Deportations
Culleton, who has lived in Boston for more than 15 years and runs a construction company, told Irish broadcaster RTE that he was taken by ICE officers on his way home from Home Depot.
Culleton said that he told ICE authorities that he is married to a US citizen, is in the process of applying for a green card, had no criminal record and had a valid work permit.
“As far as I know I was covered,” he said, speaking from an ICE facility in El Paso, Texas where he is currently detained. “None of that mattered; they cuffed me and took me away,” he said.
In a statement to CNN, US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said that Culleton had entered the US in 2009 under the visa waiver program which allowed a 90-day stay, then failed to depart.
Culleton said that he is being held in a large, overcrowded room with more than 70 other men and sleeping under constant artificial lighting in cold and damp conditions.
Detainees are receiving limited food, have restricted access to medical care and are rarely allowed outside, he told RTE.
“As far as I know I was covered,” he said, speaking from an ICE facility in El Paso, Texas where he is currently detained. “None of that mattered; they cuffed me and took me away,” he said.
In a statement to CNN, US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said that Culleton had entered the US in 2009 under the visa waiver program which allowed a 90-day stay, then failed to depart.
Culleton said that he is being held in a large, overcrowded room with more than 70 other men and sleeping under constant artificial lighting in cold and damp conditions.
Detainees are receiving limited food, have restricted access to medical care and are rarely allowed outside, he told RTE.
“I’ve been locked in the same room now for four and a half months. I’ve had barely any outside time. No fresh air. No sunshine. I could probably count on both hands the amount of times I’ve been outside,” Culleton said, adding: “I’m just locked in this room all day every day.”
Culleton described the conditions inside the facility, thousands of miles away from his home in Boston, as “filthy,” calling it a “nightmare.”“I’m in fear for my life down here, honestly,” he said.
McLaughlin said that after his arrest on September 9, Culleton “received full due process and was issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge on September 10, 2025. He was offered the chance to instantly be removed to Ireland but chose to stay in ICE custody, in fact he took affirmative steps to remain in detention.”
“A pending green card application and work authorization does not give someone legal status to be in our country,” McLaughlin said.
